Alchemy and Resolve
by saffron-soul
Summary: Ed leaves suddenly for Rush Valley, claiming he needs to get his leg fixed. Roy suspects that something is wrong and tries desperately to figure out what. He tries surprising Ed upon his return, but it's Ed that has the surprise for him. (Post-Brotherhood)


Ed takes a deep breath before picking up the phone. _This phone call makes everything real. There's no turning back._ After dialing the number, and hearing a familiar voice at the receiving end, he closes his eyes. "Hi Winry, it's Ed. Is everything all set for this weekend?"

The next day, he has a train ticket for Rush Valley. When Roy asks why he's departing so suddenly, Ed goes red in the face. "The wires in my leg keep short circuiting. Plus, I need some regular maintenance, and stuff."

Quirking an eyebrow, he asks, "And stuff?"

"Shut up, I just need to get my leg fixed. It's been bothering me for a while and I need to get it looked at. I will see you in two days, okay?"

"Okay," Roy says warily. He doesn't want to question his boyfriend's motives, but he can't help but be suspicious of the fact that Ed's traveling half-way across the country without mentioning it to him earlier. Roy has given Ed several physical inspections recently, very thorough inspections he'd like to think, and it didn't seem like his leg was bothering him at all. It wasn't like Ed to get his automail looked at unless it was quite literally falling apart. Regardless, he leans forward to give him a hug and a kiss before he leaves. "Call me as soon as you get there. I love you."

"I love you too, idiot," Ed mumbles before kissing him back.

As they pull away, alarms start ringing in Roy's head. They crescendo as Ed reaches for his suitcase and runs to his taxi, not even bothering to wave back. Whenever they kissed, it was never as tentative as it had just been. Ed was holding something back, and it made Roy's skin crawl.

 _What's going on with him?_

Roy spends the next day stewing at his desk, miserably failing at doing any paperwork. It was the first night in almost two years that he had spent alone, and the feeling ate away at his heart. It was very unlike him to doubt Ed in any capacity, especially when it came to their relationship. But the catalyst of Ed's unexpected trip opened up Roy's mind to a world of over-analytical thinking. He reviewed over and over again any and all abnormalities he had observed in Ed for the past few weeks.

 _If he's not going to Rush Valley for his leg, then why is he going?_ It is quite possible that maybe he just wanted to visit Winry and didn't have the heart to just say "I miss my friend," which wouldn't be very out of character for him. A small part of Roy wonders if maybe Ed is having an affair, but he knows that it isn't true. Edward Elric has the strongest heart and toughest moral fiber of anyone he has ever known, and to even speculate that he could be capable of cheating would be a grave disservice to the man that he knows he is. Even still, he thinks back to Ed's phone call last night, letting him know he was safe. His voice was shaky, and he sounded like he was in a hurry. _What was he trying to hide, if not an affair?_

 _Did I say or do anything recently that made him upset?_ Sure, they teased each other often about their various traits, such as height or age, but that was an every-day occurrence. They hadn't gotten into any large fights recently. Although, for some reason, Ed has been acting a little more unsettled recently, which Roy keeps note of.

 _What if he's unhappy with me? What if he's unhappy in our relationship and is going to talk to Winry for help?_ This thought upsets Roy the most, because it's the most probable. Ed has a habit of concealing when he is hurt, which inevitably leads to more damage for both of them in the end. It would make sense that he would try and seek outside advice before talking to Roy directly about it first. But to go all the way to Rush Valley for advice seems a bit much. _Either something is really wrong, or I'm really stupid for thinking that anything is in the first place._

"General Mustang, sir," Colonel Hawkeye salutes, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Permission granted, Colonel."

"You're acting peculiarly mopey for what seems to be just a routine automail maintenance trip for Ed. You are incredibly close to your final promotion, as it were, and it would be a shame if you didn't get it because you were too busy sulking about not seeing your boyfriend for two days."

"You're right, Colonel. I should know better," he replies. _But I don't._

"The brain has a way of messing with the heart when it has no need to. You are a man of science, but you need to have a little more faith. I can assure you that you're worrying for nothing," she smiles comfortingly. "Ed and you are good together, General. Don't let your assumptions get the better of you."

"Thank you, Colonel. As always, you always know what to say," Roy nods.

"You're welcome. Now get back to work so that you can actually be home when Ed arrives tomorrow."

One all-nighter and several liters of coffee later, Roy has not only finished his work for the next day, but has done so early. After Hawkeye's pep talk, he had a stroke of inspiration. _I am going to get the house ready, make him his favorite food, and set the mood with candles and flowers to show him how much I really love him._ Ed had always expressed his distaste for things traditionally romantic. But whenever Roy went out of his way to get him chocolates, flowers, or any other small token of love, it would brighten up his eyes for days. It was worth being called "idiot and actual piece of tree sap" for a while afterwards.

As he peeled the rose petals from their stems, scattering them in a trail from the door to the bedroom, the small pit that had taken residence in his gut still thrummed. Knowing that there was a possibility that Ed was upset with him about something made him miserable inside. If he had known what he had done to cause Ed pain, he would at least be able to work on whatever it was. This was a complete shot in the dark. It reminded him of the brief time he was blind after the Promised Day, and he felt helpless.

Two hours of sitting silently on the couch later, Roy heard a knock at the door. He could feel his heart lift out of him, and then cower back deeper within. _He's back. Oh god, he's back._

When Roy opens the door, his heart finally drops, shattering on the stoop and blowing away in little dust particles following the afternoon breeze. He should have known better that Ed doesn't knock; it was the delivery man that he had forgotten he had called an hour ago because he was too tired to make himself lunch.

"That will be 2,500 cenz, sir."

When Ed actually does come home, his arrival is less expected. Roy blinks awake from his unplanned nap on the couch just as Ed closes the door behind him. When he realizes that he's finally back, Roy curses to himself and fetches the bouquet of flowers he has on the coffeetable. "Ed! I-I missed you. Here, take these," he says, holding the flowers out with one hand towards Ed, the other rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. _Wake_ up _Roy, Ed is here! He's here! Snap out of it! Wait, don't snap, you might light him on fire._ Once he shakes his head out of the fog, he assesses Ed's face, and what he sees makes him want to cry.

Ed's eyes are wide and terrified. He's looking around the apartment, feeling completely overwhelmed, and not knowing what to do or say. Roy can practically feel Ed's instinct to run.

"Ed, please don't be upset. I-, I didn't mean to, is this too much?" He searches Ed's eyes for an answer. His boyfriend's mouth just hangs open, unable to comment. "When you left, I thought something was wrong. I've been retracing everything I've said in the past few weeks over and over again in the past forty-eight hours and I can't figure it out. But even if nothing is wrong, I still wanted to do something special for you, because I love you, and that's what people do for each other when they're in love. I stayed up all night at work to finish my work early so I could be home for you and make it special. I'm-" Roy stops, seeing that Ed's eyes are expressing something close to annoyance.

"You're such a fucking dumbass, Roy, you're not supposed to be here right now."

Roy is taken aback. "What do you, what?" Looking at the clock, he notices that Ed is here a full two hours before his train was scheduled to arrive. "I told you, I finished my work early so I could…" He shakes his head. "Why was your train so early?"

Ed lets out a big sigh. "I had everything planned out, Roy. You were supposed to be still at work, and I was going to come back early and set everything up and surprise you. And you have to go and ruin it because you're a big fucking sap and won't save any room for me to be one too, for once." He looks up at Roy, meeting his eyes and smiling. "You always beat me at my own game, bastard."

Roy almost feels like fainting. "So you're not mad at me for something. Oh my god, I was going crazy. I went through every scenario in the book, Ed, I've been obsessive."

"I guess I wasn't subtle about the fact that I didn't go to Rush Valley to get my leg fixed up, huh?"

The General freezes. Now he's even more confused. "Wait, you didn't? I mean, I picked up on something funny, but-" he notices Ed's smile, almost feral. "Ed, what's happening?"

"Finally, I fucking win this time. Not in the way I wanted, but it will have to do." Ed casually places his hands in his pockets. "I forgot to mention, Al moved in with Winry a few weeks ago. They're finally settling down together."

"That's fantastic news, Ed, but that doesn't explain why you're acting so weird. You could have just told- wait. You've been planning whatever this is for weeks?"

He bites his lip and nods his head in the completely adorable way that always makes Roy's knees weak. "And I didn't tell you because I had to make sure all the ingredients had time to be delivered before I visited. Well, really I just had to wait for that favor from Ling. That's what took the longest, really. You wouldn't believe the shipping costs for transport across the desert, it's-"

"What the hell are you getting at, Ed? What's going on?"

Ed smiles again, briefly looking down indicating his right arm, still in his pocket. As he pulls out a small, red, velvet box, his eyes are all on Roy, who's face is filled with the most genuine expression of surprise, which quickly turns to understanding and then disbelief. His hand flies to his mouth, and he tries to choke back a wave of emotion.

"Ed, are you fucking-"

"This isn't a joke, Roy. This is just about the farthest thing from it. This is the most seriously I've even felt in regards to our relationship." Then, he kneels down on his left knee. He starts to shake, knowing that the next few minutes are going to change their lives forever. "When you first gave me my silver pocket watch, when I first became 'Fullmetal', I had etched on the inside cover the words 'Don't forget' in remembrance of the home that Al and I had left behind to accomplish our goals. It was a vow, sealed with both alchemy and resolve, that we had no home until we were normal again. After we got our bodies back, I still held on to that promise, because I knew I wasn't completely whole yet.

"But after taking a couple years to travel, searching for that missing piece of me out west, I finally came home to you, Roy. I haven't had one since Al and I burned our house down. But I knew that in your arms, I would always be home, I would always be whole. You filled my heart with love, and I have given it back as much as I can. And so, with this," he says, opening the box to reveal a silver ring with a single, blue diamond setting, "I make a new vow to you. Engraved on the inside of this ring, forged from the metal of my old pocket watch, it also says 'Don't forget,' so you don't forget that now we have a home with each other, that we make each other whole. I have sealed it with a resolve to be yours. Since I can't transmute anymore, I had Al seal it with his own alchemy. The diamond on top came from Xing, complements of the Emperor. I figured blue would match your uniform and all, but I digress."

"Ed-"

"Roy, I want to grow old with you, even though you might get there a little quicker than me. I want to be with you on the night you get promoted to Fuhrer, and all nights before and after. You are the only one who holds my heart. I'm all in, I'm all yours. So here I am, on one automail knee," he laughs, "asking you one question: Roy Mustang, will you marry me?"

By this point, Roy is sobbing. He hasn't felt this much _anything_ in so long. After years of hiding behind desks and masks and formalities, this kind of outpouring of emotion is so incredibly rare. Only Ed could bring out this side of him. Only Ed could bring him figuratively and literally to his knees so easily. And it is only Ed that can make him jump headfirst into these feelings and fucking swim. He nods furiously as he crouches down, unable to hold himself upright anymore, holding his hand out so that Ed can slip the ring onto his finger. Once he does, he crashes forward into his boyfriend, no, _fiancé_ , and kisses him because he needs a physical reminder that this isn't a dream. "Yes," he whispers in between hungry meetings of lips. "Yes, always yes," he cries.

Feeling Roy's tear drops against his cheek, he finally breaks down after trying to hold himself back. "You really didn't get any sleep last night, huh? You always get emotional when-"

"Shut up and kiss me, you fucking asshole." _Mine, mine, mine, all mine, and I got the ring to prove it. I have the fucking ring to prove it._

And Ed laughs as Roy pushes him backwards to the ground. _He's turned me into a sap, and I've turned his mouth filthy. Look how hopeless we are._


End file.
